Currently, a called party is notified of an incoming call in a manner that has remained the same for over one hundred years: the telephone “rings”. Ringing signals may have changed from the ringing of copper bells to electronic simulations thereof, flashing lights and other forms of audible and/or visible signals (e.g., musical melodies, text messages on a display on or adjacent the telephone, synthesized or recorded speech, etc.) but the meaning is the same. Regardless of whether a bell rings, a light flashes or a melody plays, the called party knows that he or she has an incoming call.
The only additional information regarding the incoming call that is available is caller identification (“caller ID”), which is usually the telephone number of the calling telephone and, optionally, the name of the person associated with the calling telephone. Frequently, however, the caller ID is blocked, or the person calling is not the one whose name and/or telephone number appears in the caller ID. The called party has to answer the call to find out more.
Thus, when the phone rings, the called party must make a decision as to how to (and whether to) answer the call based on the caller ID information. Currently, the called party has two choices: to not answer the call and allow the call to go to no-answer treatment (e.g., voice mail, telephone coverage, etc.) or to answer the call. Once the called party answers the call, the call is connected through the network and nothing further can be done without direct interaction with the calling party. As a result, network resources are consumed, multiple calls may be required and the called party's privacy is compromised.